Frequently Asked Questions

Informing and educating our customers takes precedence at BumBoosa® Bamboo Products. With the expansion of the green market and new products being advertised every day, we are bombarded with choices. We think our customers should know all the facts in order to make informed consumer decisions when it comes to purchasing Bum Boosa and our partner NooTree’s Products. If your question is not answered below, our informed staff is available to help you. Please email info@bumboosa.com

Questions:

Q: Why can't I find Bum Boosa Bamboo Toilet Paper anymore?

While BumBoosa Bamboo Baby Wipes are still available, our bamboo toilet paper is not. BumBoosa® is now licensed by F.J. Benjamin Holdings. Since beginning 2016, under our licensing agreement, F.J. Benjamin distributes BumBoosa Bamboo Baby Wipes alongside their bamboo tissue brand called NooTrees. The NooTrees lines offers 3 ply bamboo bathroom tissue, facial tissue, and spa wipes. We at BumBoosa know that you will find that the NooTrees bathroom tissue is of the same high quality and source. Currently both BumBoosa Bamboo Baby Wipes and the NooTrees line are distributed to several regions in Asia and North America. Plans for additional products for baby under the BumBoosa brand name are underway.

Q: Is it really worth worrying about what ingredients are in your baby wipes and other baby products?

Yes! We think so. We don’t want to be alarmists, but we do support the reduction of harsh chemicals and preservatives in skin care. It is not only better for you and your family, but it is healthier for our planet. Whatever you put on skin is likely to be absorbed into the blood stream with the potential to cause damage over time. Whatever is thrown into the landfill or flushed down your toilet has the potential to accumulate and contaminate water supplies and oceans which can then become concentrated in the food chain.

You might say that manufacturers have taken the easy way out for years by using cheap ingredients to turn a bigger profit and harsh preservatives to ensure a product’s shelf life throughout an increasingly growing supply chain. There is good news though; Consumers like you have been educating themselves and voting for safer and higher quality products with their dollars. The more consumers show their concern by buying safer and more natural products, the more common it will become to see ingredients lists with safer ingredients.

In our case, BumBoosa® began as concerned mothers who found a need in the market for safer baby products. When we set out to create them, we insisted that they be made with certain gentler ingredients. We are fortunate to have found and work with suppliers that listened to our concerns and helped us create our vision.

Navigating the enormous terrain of chemical names is not easy for the average person. Furthermore, just because you have trouble pronouncing an ingredient, does not mean it is dangerous. A Washington-based organization called Skin Deep has made it easy to calculate your risk of exposure to potentially harmful substances through the personal care products you use for yourself or your baby. Their rating system offers a means of quantifying the risks posed. Bum Boosa® has voluntarily signed their Compact for Safe Cosmetics, and in doing so we have pledged to not only make our products safe, but to provide transparency to consumers. We also submitted laboratory testing results that show that our baby wipes do not contain dioxane 1, 4, formaldehyde, chlorine, or BPAs (bisphenol a). Check them out at: www.safecosmetics.org

Click here to read about some common ingredients you may see in skin care products that may be cause for concern. We recommend avoiding them and we choose never use them in our products, as we believe that there are many safe and natural alternatives. As a side note, we also recommend that when we consider laboratory studies to always ask how a study was performed (did they use high quantities? Was it performed on an animal? In a petrie dish? Who was funding the study? How many studies have there been and what did they conclude?).

Q: Are BumBoosa Bamboo Baby Wipes and NooTrees line quality-controlled?

Yes. The facilities where the wet wipes are manufactured are audited by FDA, and ISO:9001 Certified. Furthermore, all manufacturing practices are compliant with the US cGMP Guidelines and the EU Council GMPc Guidelines.

Q: How is the manufacturing process of bamboo toilet paper more environmentally friendly?

The FSC Certified (Forest Stewardship Council) toilet paper manufacturer uses a thermo-mechanical engineering process to pulp the bamboo, which is very different than the chemically intensive processes that are most common. You can get more details here. Second, the manufacturing processes utilized by the toilet paper manufacturer use 80% less water than normal tissue paper production, are elemental chlorine-free and utilize less energy ensuring a sustainable process. You also do not have to worry about BPAs being present in bamboo toilet tissue. You do if you are using a recycled content bathroom tissue.

Renewability refers to a plant that has a short regeneration period to full maturation, usually in stark contrast to the material they are replacing. Sustainability refers to resources being replenished at a fast enough rate at which they can be used for consumption. Bamboo is a quintessential renewable and sustainable plant due to the fact that it grows back so quickly and naturally. Furthermore, it is a regenerating plant, which means it does not have to be replanted. This saves on gas-guzzling tractors.

Q: Are your baby wipes flushable?

Most people are not aware, but there are currently no federal regulations regarding this marketing claim. INDA, the Association for Non Woven Fabrics Industry offers guidelines to determine flushability, but it seems that even the experts are conflicted as to whether any company should be advertising wet wipes as flushable. In fact, several states have tried to ban this marketing claim for wet wipes altogether. Therefore, we do not recommend that you flush Bum Boosa Bamboo Baby Wipes. There is more to flushablity than whether or not the product will biodegrade. What we have learned is that flushability really depends on if the flushed material will cause blockage problems en route to these microbial feasts. If you flush many wipes per day, chances are that it could be a problem. If you have any questions about “flushability”, please email us at info@bumboosa.com. Our toilet paper and diaper liners however, are safe to flush.

Q: Are your baby wipes and other products made using bio-based material?

Yes, these products are made from bio-based bamboo material. So far, we have certified our bamboo baby wipes in the USDA Bioprefered program. The USDA defines bio-based products as those whose main ingredients are from renewable plant, animal, marine, or forestry materials. Get more info at www.biopreferred.gov

Q: Are BumBoosa® Bamboo Wipes compostable?

Composting turns degradable materials into useable compost-humus-like material that enriches the soil and returns nutrients to the earth. BumBoosa® Bamboo Wipes have early on been deemed as compostable in industrial or municipal facilities as opposed to home composting units that do not generate high enough temperature to safely break down human waste. These claims were based on our independent results and by our customers who use well managed facilities with high temperatures. However, the FTC recently set requirements for compostability certification testing that is a financial burden for many small business like ours. We will keep you updated on our progress with our certification tests. In the meantime, we cannot make claims that they are compostable at industrial or municipal facilities.

Q: Do you test on animals?

We have never, nor will we ever test on animals. Furthermore, all of our suppliers must provide documentation stating to the same. We are certified by Leaping Bunny which is a program providing the best assurance that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or suppliers.

Q: How many trees has BumBoosa® planted with Trees for the Future and where were they planted?

BumBoosa® planted 50,000 trees with Trees for the Future. Our trees were being planted in a variety of locations where deforestation has had a major impact. We feel that regions that have suffered tremendous losses due to deforestation are the best place to start and to date our trees were planted in Brazil, Ghana, Burundi and Haiti. We have chosen to plant in these countries for two reasons: rainforest depletion is as high as 90% due to things like widespread logging in the past and overgrazing. And in Burundi, where 57% of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, we are planting Moringa, “the miracle tree” which boasts twice the calcium as milk and four times as much Vitamin A as in carrots.

If you would like to plant trees, too, please visit Trees for the Future to learn about their many programs.

Q: Will bamboo production put Panda bears at more risk?

No. The species’ of plant used for processing fiber is a different variety than the ones Pandas consume. Its Latin name is Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens, but is commonly known as Moso bamboo. Deforestation, agricultural encroachment and road-building remain the biggest threats to Panda habitat.

Q: Why did you choose bamboo for your products?

Because it’s the best, environmentally-preferable solution for disposable products! We invite you to read our Bamboo page for detailed information about bamboo. Below are the highlights of why we chose it for our products:

Regenerated cellulose fiber made from bamboo is a bio-based material;

Bamboo is the fastest growing grass on the planet and can shoot up a yard or more a day making it an endurable natural resource. Bamboo is ready for harvesting in 2-4 years (as opposed to 30+ years for trees);

Bamboo does not require replanting after harvesting because of its vast root network;

Bamboo crops do not require significant amounts of water, in fact, rain water is usually sufficient for growth;

Bamboo generates 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees;

Replacing disposables with bamboo material can have a major effect on the rate of deforestation of hardwood forests;

Regenerated-cellulose fiber from bamboo is very soft.

Q: Why do you import from China?

• China is currently the largest exporter of bamboo worldwide. Their contribution of this export is significant. Bamboo’s position in the market continues to progress because in contrast to wood, bamboo is increasingly understood to be an inherently sustainable resource because of its rapid growth and abundant availability.

• With logging bans in China in natural forests, demand for bamboo grew to offset deforestation of traditional trees. The result was that more and more rural people in China began to grow bamboo on their farms to improve their livelihoods. Bamboo is now routinely plantation-grown on Chinese land that families and villages own the rights to, i.e, the managing and harvesting rights. The People’s Republic of China have allowed this kind of land management structure (mix of free market with government incentives) since economic reforms in the 1980’s with the aim of alleviating the intense poverty of rural people. It is a positive development.

• As a strategic response to their own timber shortages, China is currently leading the bamboo pulp and paper processing industry, while at the same time, offering the international community a solution to their respective crises of deforestation.

• We also feel that it is a common misperception that importing to America comes at the cost of American jobs. Based on our experience as bamboo business owners since 2009, we know that bamboo imports have the potential to and already have contributed to job creation.

• Of course it would be ideal to have bamboo grown and also processed here in North America. However, bamboo agriculture and processing industries are currently in the development stages in North America; Major developments will not happen until North America demonstrates an increased market demand over a period of time. Canadian Senator Doug Finley recently stated that “bamboo is the next Microsoft of the business world.” It is our goal to eventually be manufacturing in the North America. When the bamboo industry develops in our region, we will be ready for it.

Q: I notice that you are B Corp certified? What does that mean?

B Corp certification is to sustainable business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Find out more at www.bcorporation.net